Shattered Desires
by Order of the Gray Crusaders
Summary: Most people only know Amy by the way she acts on the outside. Inside the mask, however, doesn't every person has a different face on the inside that results in the way we act on the outside? One sided? Sonic/Amy
1. Prologue

Shattered Desires

A Sonic the Hedgehog Fanfiction

Obligatory Disclaimer: All characters except for where noted otherwise copyright Sega.

Prologue

I don't remember very much about the first six years of my life. The only memories I have of that era of my life are fragments, a few still shots in my head of a time I can't remember much of. The first snapshot is when I was about four or five years old. (I can't remember which) My parents were archaeologists and traveled the world for a living. Today, I barely even remember my parents at all. I feel sad about this sometimes. All I really know about them are their faces in my head, and an old photo album with a few pictures to remember them by. I'm in a few of them. I never got to know my parents because they were killed in a freak accident on the outskirts of Shamar during an archaeological dig. They were doing an excavation of some ancient ruins when there was a horrible accident which caused a cave in. Both were crushed to death. With no legal guardian, I was sent off to an orphanage in a small town several hours away from Empire City.

Growing up in the orphanage wasn't too bad, I got along well enough with the other kids and had a few semi-close friends. There wasn't a whole lot to do at the orphanage, the TVs only got a few channels and there was a rec room with a pool table, and some other stuff including a few video games. We also had computers in our rooms, but there was no internet and not much to do on those, and I was really never much of a gamer anyways, so the only other alternative was reading. When they taught us to read in school (and I taught myself outside of classes) the result was that for the next few years I turned into a total bookworm.

I found solace in the many worlds and stories which I escaped in, and after several years had gone by, I had visited well over several hundred of them. My favorite books by far were romance, particularly the type of stories about 'damsels in distress' who were saved by a heroic character. To this end, I started becoming fascinated with the superhero genre, and ended up with a fairly decent comic book/graphic novel collection. It wasn't so much the super abilities and the clash of good versus evil in the books that attracted me the most, I was drawn most to the series' in which the hero had a girlfriend.

It was my biggest fantasy to have a hero of my own, someone brave and bold, a defender of the world, and _I _would be the girl in his life, the one he would risk life and limb to protect, the one he cared about above all else. The Lois Lane to Superman, if you will.

This obsession was so strong that I got a pen and some paper and began writing stories of my own, some original, a lot of stories based off the characters from the stories that particularly interested me.

I had a whole large collection of these writings that I kept in a box stashed under my bed. They were not terribly well written by professional standards, but what the heck, I was only nine years old, and they were my personal fantasies. I didn't care how good or bad they were, and I knew I could improve with practice as long as I kept writing.

It was at that time I knew that I probably wanted to be a writer when I grew up. At age 10, this was further spurned on when our orphanage got internet access, and I discovered to my great surprise and joy that there were entire communities on the internet dedicated to the exact same thing I was doing. I excitedly dug all my old stories out from under my bed, selected the ones I thought were the best, and posted them on a website called .

I found the internet far more convenient than using a bunch of paper and having to store it somewhere in my room, where I was beginning to run out of space.

Also, the website had a system for posting reviews and critiques of stories, which I found extremely useful as I met people who helped me out and taught me how to get better, which I steadily did. I joined some online communities and made a number of friends through various message boards.

I think, looking back upon it now, that the reason I was so obsessed with my stories was that, while I had a lot of friends and a very friendly staff at the orphanage that cared about me, I never really had anyone in my life who _truly_ cared about me as the person I was deep inside.

Let me elaborate: my parents were dead. My friends were the other kids at the orphanage and people I knew online, but they weren't truly close. I kinda lived two different lives, one in the physical and a separate life online. I never really talked about the other in one section, and kept a lot to myself. Truly, I felt alone. I had no one to whom I was the center of their world. To the orphanage staff, I was just one kid out of many. To my fellow kids, I was not much more special than any one of them. To my friends online, I was a screenname that was developing steadily into a more proficient writer. But there was really no one who truly saw the real me inside, someone special with which I could share every aspect of my life in.

Also, no one ever adopted me. I saw a lot of friends come and go over the years and most eventually got new homes, but no one ever wanted me. I guess deep down inside I started wondering, after several years, if there was something wrong with me. Why didn't anyone ever want me?

Writing about my fantasies was a great catharsis. I think that was why I wanted a boyfriend so bad, because I felt that I could finally achieve wholeness and get what I was longing for. The superhero fetish in particular stemmed from the desire to have a protector, someone who would I would be the center of attention. I wanted it so bad, that it permeated my every thought day in and day out. My fantasies were not just limited to the pen and paper (or word processor), but my fantasies would often entertain themselves throughout the day and lying awake for hours at night.

Sometimes I would even cry, thinking that I might never get to know what I so longed to have.


	2. The World's First Real Superhero

Chapter 1 - The World's First Real Superhero

The year that I turned eleven, the fantasies that I had loved to indulge myself in so much suddenly took and all too realistic turn. On October 9th, a strange broadcast hijacked the airwaves and took over every station in the country. This was the first the world saw of the demented terrorist calling himself Dr. Eggman. An egotistical self proclaimed mad scientist, Dr. Eggman's demands were very simple: Surrender the United Federation to the so-called 'Eggman Empire'; or else two random major cities per week would be destroyed.

The government paid him no heed. GUN was the most powerful military in the world, and giving into the demands of a terrorist were unheard of. Not only were his demands ignored, many even treated it like a big joke. And that was when the widespread destruction began. On October 16, a battalion of robots appeared out of nowhere and descended upon the first major city in the northern part of the country and began a campaign of destruction. GUN moved in quickly with their military, but to their horror, Eggman's robots were surprisingly far advanced than anything GUN had ever gone up against. Eggman, with an IQ of 300, was able to design machines that could far outclass anything the militaries best scientists had ever come up with. After leaving a trail of destruction in the city, the robots retreated and disappeared just as soon as they came.

A few days later, another city was attacked in a similar fashion.

The government soon realized that the robots were coming from a hive of underground bases all across the nation that Eggman had strategically linked through a network of tunnels. Eggman, with this system, could choose to activate any area he wanted and select a target at the press of a button. The base closest to the intended target would become temporarily operational, machines would come out and attack, leave a path of destruction, and then disappear just as soon as they came.

The worst part is that the machines all were fitted with sophisticated cloaking devices that gave off signals that couldn't be located on radar with GUN's standard military equipment.

For the next two months, people began to live in fear of where Eggman might strike next. Major cities started to vacate. The economy began to drastically drop. To make it clear that no one was truly safe anywhere, Eggman targeted a few small towns to show his point.

Surprisingly, Empire City was not among the first of the cities to be attacked, in fact, it was quite further down the list. The center of the world commerce was the most expected area to be attacked, and GUN had moved in full force as a precautionary measure after Eggman had made his first threat. But to a terrorist like Eggman, he had made well sure not to attack there first.

From his rational, a true evil mastermind never gave the audience what they were expecting. The mark of true genius was to build up suspense, make people wonder, fear. The attack on Empire City eventually came on November 3rd, and ended just as horribly as could be expected. While GUN had fortified it to the best of their attempts, Eggman had a whole knew arsenal of robots specifically for this particular invasion, some truly nasty designs. GUN was licked only half an hour after the battle had begun. The World Trade Center was razed to the ground. Thankfully there had not been a whole lot of people who had actually stuck around in Empire City after the destruction had started, and the government had long since moved most of the important operations in the city, including the World Trade Center, to an undisclosed location underground.

Eggman knew this, and took his time destroying every single building till everything was in total ruins. It was near completely leveled by the time he had finished with it.

I still remember all of this like it was yesterday. Even though our town was over 15 miles away from Empire City, we could see the flames and smoke all the way from our orphanage. Everyone was immediately evacuated quickly. On one of the very few news stations that were still operational, the headline on the TV the next day was **'Empire City Falls! Is the Federation Doomed?'**

-

The following day, Eggman sent a message to the government informing them that his next targets was going the underground World Trade Center, whose location he had hacked out of the government's database. He also provided a list of major government buildings and military bases he was planning on hitting on the same day. He was christening this momentous occasion as 'Eggman Day.'

A different memo was sent to the other major nations around the world informing their respective leaders that once the United Federation fell, anyone who didn't surrender to the new Eggman Empire was already being targeted for a strike.

The United Federation had no other choice. On November 4th, the United Federation officially surrendered to the Eggman Empire. Many of the other nations also pledged their allegiance too, not wanted to be made and example out of like the Federation.

-

But on November 5th, Eggman's plans completely began to fall apart. GUN had been no match against Eggman's power, but Eggman finally found an enemy that was. Eggman had barely tasted his goal of world domination when one of his hidden underground bases was destroyed instantly by an unknown force. A strange surge of blue energy whipped through demolishing everything in its path. In minutes, the base was in ruins, and less than half an hour later, another base several hundred miles away was destroyed the same way.

It soon turned out to be a big mistake connecting all his underground bases to a networked series of tunnels. The blue force began methodically making its way from base to base all over the country wiping them out one at a time. Eggman watched with shock and horror as his plans began to fall apart, while trying to save face in front of the world that had surrendered to him pretending that nothing was wrong.

But another big mistake he had made was that the bases had been a little too close to the towns and military bases of which he had planned to strike, and so it didn't take long for a few GUN forces around those locations to notice the smoke and discover the now defunct bases. Not pausing to question how or why this happened, they took the technology they found and went full force into studying them and applying their own technology.

The United Federation succeeded from the Eggman Empire the very day after it had surrendered.

Eggman knew he was in trouble and disappeared. The TV stations and news were soon abuzz with speculation and gossip once the government had announced that Eggman's bases indeed lied in ruins.

No one knew what had happened, but a major newspaper published the headline echoing the sentiments of the entire nation: _'God Is On Our Side'_ and the mantra rapidly found its way all over the country.

When GUN hacked into Eggman's security system, they found camera footage of the strange phenomenon that had laid waste to Eggman's fortresses. These were then leaked to the news several days later, and speculation rose even more sharply than before. The most common theory was that one of Eggman's inventions had malfunctioned and destroyed everything.

It had to have been some kind of robot with an advanced AI, the way it methodically moved on a clear mission of destroying everything in its path. No stone, or robot in this case, was left unturned.

Some said speculated it was a guardian angel sent to protect the world.

-

Eggman's third and final mistake was that once GUN cracked Eggman's cloaking technology, any and all hidden bases all over the world now stood out like sore thumbs on radar. And that's when the manhunt began. GUN's new and improved machines, armed with Eggman technology, now had the ability to stand up to anything he might counter with. The world had a fighting chance. The technology was distributed to any nation that had a military program and within a week most of Eggman's bases had fallen. On November 16th, Eggman's mother base was found. A tall imposing fortress situated on a small island where he had holed himself up in the whole time, located out in the middle of the ocean. A GUN stakeout confirmed that Eggman was in the base.

On November 17th, the invasion began. The mission was code named Project Armageddon. Every military from every nation in the world showed up for the fight. Eggman had become the number one public enemy in the world. A warrant was issued dead or alive.

One mistake that Eggman had not made, however, was have himself ill equipped for such a scenario. Eggman's fortress was not limited to just what was seen on top. Much of it was housed under the ocean bed, a very large portion of which contained Eggman's most massive underground base yet, and home to nearly a _hundred thousand_ machines. GUN may have been better equipped for a fight such as this, against the endless onslaught of machines that kept coming out, it was an incredibly fierce battle.

I still remember this all very clearly, the whole thing was actually televised.

As the day dragged on, and the battle got worse and worse and it seemed as if we were actually losing. To make matters worse, Eggman had been using his time wisely and updating his technology so these machines actually outclassed GUN to a small margin.

As evening dawned and it seemed as if it were possible we might actually lose, The Guardian showed up.

-

Around 6:05 PM, the number of machines emerging from underwater suddenly took a drastic drop. As quickly as it had seemed we were losing, the tide had taken a drastic turn. Twenty minutes later, Eggman's base exploded.

By the time the dust had settled and GUN moved in, Eggman had already made his escape. Like his other bases before it, this one was in a similar, and even worse state. But what stunned the world was the security camera footage which confirmed suspicions. Not only was it true that the Guardian had been involved, but the footage showed an explicit confrontation that had occurred inside between it and Dr. Eggman. It was a hedgehog. A blue hedgehog. And that was the first the world ever heard of Sonic.


	3. The Superhero Exists and he's a Hedgehog

Chapter 2 - The Superhero Exists and he's a Hedgehog

-

1

-

Watching the SNN footage in front of the TV of Sonic for the very first time left me stunned. I could hardly believe it. The world's first superhero was a hedgehog. Like me.

The footage aired on the station nonstop all day long, and for a few days after that. Sonic was the talk of the world. Everybody was trying to figure out who he was, where he came from, what was his name, where he got his abilities, ect.

The President of the Federation made a public statement calling for the hero to reveal himself so he could be given an award. But about a month was destined to go by before we heard another thing from him. During that period, GUN initiated an all out massive search for the hero that was still being dubbed "The Guardian", and people still continued to speculate.

That night after the first broadcast of the footage, I lied awake all night in bed, too excited to sleep.

_The Superhero Exists... and he's a Hedgehog_

I giggled to myself at the thought of the SNN tagline, an amusing reference to _Watchmen._

To this day, I don't even know why I began thinking the thoughts I did that night. It was pretty stupid, really. Superimposing Sonic into my superhero fantasies.

But tell me, did you really not see that one coming?

But the most disturbing thing to me this day was that for some reason, in my wildest flights of imagination, something in my brain that night really did start to think...

I'm not really sure how I reasoned with myself on that one.

Sonic was a hedgehog. I was a hedgehog. He was a superhero. I had an obsession with superheroes. What if it was destiny?

Suppose I found him somehow and he fell head over heels in love...

_No, no. Stop thinking such silly thoughts, Amy. _I thought at the time.

First off, I didn't know the first thing about him. He could already have a girlfriend.

And if he lived somewhere far away, how would I ever get there? I didn't have money or means to get anywhere. I didn't have confidence in myself to go all alone in the outside world and try to make a living.

Even darker thoughts started permeating my mind...

_The world's first superhero, he's a hedgehog like me... my dream come true and I'll never get to know him._

And still...

_I'm gonna be alone all my life._

_I'll never have a chance._

_By the time I get out of this place, he'll no doubt be married, good looking boy like him..._

But what if there was a chance? Even the slightest, tiniest chance?

I know I should have never let that thought cross my mind. Should have shut it down, crushed it before it even begun to have the chance to take root and take hold.

It was that line of thinking that ruined my life for the next few years, put me mentally in a prison of my own devise, a cage of tormented existence that dominated my life and dictated my actions till I almost lost who I was.

Nothing to show for it in the end except hurt, misery, and grief.

I should have just been a good little girl, stayed at the orphanage, grew up, got an education, got a good job, and lived my life peacefully and happily.

I could have found someone, a person who actually showed interest in me, gotten married, had a wonderful life.

Instead of wasting time chasing an illusion and hurting myself.

But that's exactly what happened. And so this is my tale, a story without an ending, one that as of this moment has yet to be rectified, and probably never will be. I once had faith in destiny, faith that things would eventually fall into place if I pressed hard enough. But they didn't. And here I am. Still all alone. Paying for my mistakes. Trying to put back together the fragile pieces of what's left of my life.

But before we get any farther into my miserable present, lets delve deeper into my more annoyingly optimistic past. And I'll show you exactly how I got to this point...

-

2

-

So I was lying awake in bed that night, thinking these dangerous thought patterns, somewhere in the midst of it all on the verge of being smart and telling myself to not look too deeply into anything. But I chose the wrong path. I decided to investigate things a little farther.

Let me tell you, 'investigating things farther' never leads to anything good. Take it from me, if it defies rational and common sense from the get go, run the opposite direction. Get the heck away. You'll only hurt yourself in the end.

But for the next month, I watched SNN devotedly, kept up with the news online constantly, collecting any single tidbit I could. I just _had_ to know more about this mysterious blue hedgehog.

Some time later, it came. The headline was blazing all over the TV stations, _Superhero Agrees To Interview!,_ eliciting a type of excitement and nervousness in me all at once that I had never felt before.

Oh, and the superhero's name was revealed for the first time: Sonic.

_Sonic and Amy..._ Had a nice ring to it, huh?

The interview was scheduled for December 20th, Noon on SNN. Waiting almost a whole week until that day was torture. I was an up and down mess of emotions, going from giddy to nervous excited, and extremely impatient.

The finally did come, and it was a pretty big deal. GUN had stationed a blockade all around the building to prevent anyone other than employees from getting in. Helicopters circling the sky all around, a massive media frenzy out front...

That first interview was like a dream. I didn't know what to expect. And I was terrified of what I mind find out.

I wasn't watching it like most people, though I lied to myself that I was. I was not some random person watching out of morbid curiosity, I was...

_Sizing him up?_

Love interest hunting, if you will.

I knew it was wrong, but like Adam and Eve with the forbidden fruit, I was too tantalized to not give into the temptation.

I would later watch that first interview so much that to this day I think I can still quote it from memory:

_SNN Interview with Sonic the Hedgehog - December 20th - 12:02 PM_

_News Anchor: ...and now, next on our agenda, the moment the world has been waiting for. Ladies and Gentlemen, only a short time ago our world saw the darkest period we've ever seen in our lives. And yet, in the midst of it all, a single ray of light showed its way through and brought us hope. It's been some time coming since then, but SNN has finally been able to get the person himself to come on the station and tell us his side of the story. Everybody, it gives me great honor and pleasure to be able to introduce 'The Guardian' himself, for the very first time to free world, Sonic the Hedgehog!_

The SNN theme began playing, and my breath hitched up as he walked into the studio, showing his face on international television for the very first time.

It was so hard to believe this was really happening.

The Sonic that walked up to the chair was not the same Sonic most of you are familiar with today. This Sonic didn't display the usual cockiness and charm that all of his closest friends are familiar with. This Sonic seemed a little... well, scared.

I guess that was to be expected. He wasn't used to being the center of attention at that time. And now revealing yourself to the whole world all at once? I can only imagine how I would have felt!

Everybody in the whole would was listening in, waiting for him to speak. No doubt they would be holding onto and analyzing his words for months to come, as if they were the words of a god.

I know I was certainly guilty of that one.

As Sonic walked on stage and made his way to his chair, he smiled meekly and gave a small wave to the cameras.

It was kinda like watching a deer in headlights in a way.

_NA: So, Sonic, it's a pleasure to have you with us here today. _

_S: Uh... thanks._

_NA: So, this your first time ever on international television. How do you feel?_

_S: Uh... *scratches head* Okay, I guess..._

_NA: How does it feel to be the most famous person on the planet right now?_

_S: Well... err... I dunno. I mean, fame was never something I was exactly shooting for..._

_NA: But yet you did the things that you did?_

_S: Well, I mean, I feel I only did what had to be done. I saw everything that was going on, and I just couldn't stand by and let that madman get away with it. I knew I had the ability to help out, and I... well... I did what I felt I needed to._

_NA: So... your incredible speed, Everyone is dying to know, was it acquired of were you born with it?_

_S: I was born with it._

_NA: And Sonic is your real name? You were named after your speed?_

_S: No, *scratches ear* I hate my real name, so everyone I know just calls me Sonic._

_NA: Care to give us a hint?_

_S: Not really._

_NA: I see, well, what about your family? You have a family, right? Were exactly do you hail from?_

_S: I was born on South Island, but I've never really known who my parents are. I was raised in an orphanage for most of my my earliest childhood, but I ran away when I was eight. They couldn't exactly catch me, so they really couldn't stop me._

_NA: That's very interesting. What did you do from that point on? How did you support yourself?  
_

_S: Well... I've lived in the wild most of my life. I've never strayed too far from civilization, and my speed allowed me to travel anywhere I wanted to go, so I would often take odd jobs around the world here and there. People normally didn't hire kids my age, but my abilities allowed me to be very useful for a number of tasks that took normal people a long time to do. I could complete certain tasks in minutes. So I've never had a problem living on my own. *scratches ear*_

_NA: How old are you now?_

_S: 14._

I was shocked that Sonic was an orphan too. More surprised that he had been on his own the whole time. I couldn't even imagine trying to make it on my own.

_NA: Impressive. So you're very independent, then._

_S: I like to live life by my own rules. Other people don't really bother me and I don't bother them. The only thing I don't like is when someone else is being pushed around or being taken advantage of by someone else._

_NA: But you're okay with being alone?_

_  
S: Yes. I'm perfectly content with it. I haven't gone wrong with it so far._

_NA: You do realize that you are no longer going to be able to walk down any street in the world now without being mobbed, right?_

_S: Yeah, that was the reason I chose not to publicly respond following Project Armageddon. I was trying to hide from it all, stay under the limelight, but then they caught footage of me on camera, and at that point I knew it was ultimately futile. *nervous laugh*_

_NA: So, do you have any plans of working with the government from now on? As the world's protector?  
_

_S: Uh... no. That doesn't really interest me. *scratches head uncomfortably* I only like to live by my own rules. If the world needs help... fine. But otherwise I'm not really interested in working a career for the government. It's just not me._

_NA: But I do see that you are scheduled to receive a reward from the President in a few days. There's going to be a pretty huge ceremony. Are you excited?_

_S: I guess._

_NA: This last week, we had a poll on for viewers to submit their questions they'd like you to answer, and we chose the best and most common ones that viewers would like to know, so if you don't mind, here we go._

_S: Shoot._

_NA: What is your favorite food?_

_S: Chili Dogs._

_NA: Do you have a favorite hobby?_

_S: Running. And exploring._

_NA: Do you go to school anywhere?_

_S: I learned to read at a young age. I don't go to school, but I try to educate myself on my own. Traveling the world like I can, you also tend to pick up a lot of stuff about the world that you normally wouldn't._

_NA: Any aspirations or goals for the future?_

_S: I just like to take one day at a time and see where it leads me. You never know what will happen to you in the future, and that's part of the adventure to me. So I like to just wait and see what happens. I have no real goals per se. Don't need them._

_NA: So you don't ever see yourself having a normal career?_

_S: Not my thing._

_NA: The confrontation between you and Eggman, what was it like?_

_S: Intense. It was actually my first time battling someone, so I was a little scared, because I didn't know how I would perform. But I have good reflexes, and Eggman was more scared out of his mind than I was, he didn't know how to handle me whereas I knew for the most part what to expect._

_NA: I think the one question on everyone's minds right now, do you think Eggman will ever return?_

_S: I hope not. I hope he's learned his lesson and moved on. But I don't really have a clue._

_NA: But if he returns, you'll be there to save the day, right?_

_S: *scratches head* If I'm needed._

_NA: Our time is almost up, so I won't keep you for much longer. I just have one more question from our viewers. Do you have a girlfriend?_

At the question, I tightened up in nervousness. _This is it! This is it!_

I had been afraid the whole interview this question would not come up. And now that it was here, I felt like it might make me or break me.

_Whatever the answer is... I won't get upset. I won't get upset._

At the question, Sonic turned beat red and rubbed the back of his head in embarassment.

_S: Uh... no. Not really looking for that kinda thing right now..._

_NA: That's cool... You're still young, you have plenty of time. Well, folks, I'm afraid that's all the time we have for today. Tune in December 24th for live coverage where Sonic will be receiving an award from the President. Now..._

-

3

-

The show ended shortly after that. I was elated. Not only was he an orphan like me, but he was single, and of the same species. He was also one of the most down to earth people I had ever seen. Unselfish, heroic... Everything I'd ever dreamed of.

I made it a goal that day that I must meet him. I didn't now how or were, but I had to find a way.

Watching that interview made me think long and hard about my life. Particularly the parts of the interview related to independence.

_...but I ran away when I was seven. They couldn't exactly catch me, so they really couldn't stop me..._

That was the point in which I started seriously considering leaving my comfort zone and running away from the orphanage. I didn't know what I would do, but if it worked for him... what if it was worth a shot? The only hard part would be figuring out where to go. It was truly insane what I was thinking of, and I remember I thought that at the time, but the rational part of my brain had been long overridden by what I wanted badly.

I was going off the deep end for sure.

If only I would have paid attention to the parts of the interview that mattered the most. The kind of stuff that you don't pay attention to that you need to because you don't want to hear it, and its easier to just rationalize it away.

..._okay with being alone..._

_...haven't gone wrong with it so far..._

_...not really looking for that kinda thing..._


	4. Eggman Returns

Chapter 3 - Eggman Returns

-

1

-

Eggman did reappear several months later, but his modus operandi had changed. It was not world domination he was after anymore, but revenge. Eggman had been holding up in a secret base watching the world carefully, plotting his next move. He knew that there was no way he could beat Sonic in his current state. He had been thrown for a loop. The world was no longer ripe for the taking. There was an obstacle now, and that obstacle was Sonic.

Eggman knew that any future attempts from now on would have to be more elaborate. But before that, he was going to take revenge.

_...where exactly do you hail from..._

_...was born on South Island, but I've never really known who my parents are..._

He couldn't take down Sonic, but he could take out his rage on the place Sonic grew up, the place where there were sure to be people that he knew and cared about. On January 25th, a battalion of robots rained down upon South Island and went through each village, laying waste and capturing all the villagers. Eggman erected a prison fortress on the island and put everyone in it. But Eggman was not done, not by far.

Eggman had been experimenting with different types of technology, trying to improve his robots, make them deadlier. One dastardly form he had managed to come up with was dubbed Organic AI. While artificial intelligence was something that had to be programmed into the machine to make it function in a specific, intelligent manner, Eggman found that by inserting small animals into his machines, he could utilize the instincts of the brainwashed creatures and create more realistically acting robots.

And how much more if someone where used with actual reasoning and logical skills?

Humans would be too big, but the anthro human populations of South Island would be the perfect test.

When Sonic got word that his home was under siege, not only was he up for far more of a fight with Eggman's new contraptions, but was even more horrified when he realized that Eggman had been putting his friends _inside _them.

But things were only to get worse. Shortly after Sonic arrived to South Island, Eggman's goals had changed. Eggman had discovered the legend of the Chaos Emeralds.

-

2

-

Seven gems of mystical power, the chaos emeralds were said to control the power that sustained the world. Those who could control the power of the emeralds might have the power to control the world. According to myth, back in an age before technology existed and magic was commonplace, war often broke out over the emeralds by power hungry dictators and evil sorcerers and those who would attempt to protect and hide the emeralds to prevent their misuse.

But in our modern day, the emeralds were supposedly just a fairy tale. While issuing his takeover of South Island, however, Eggman detected some strange and powerful energy readings. Upon tracking the reading, he came upon one of the gems. Conducting research and finding the lore of the emeralds, Eggman realized that the power level the emerald was exuding was indeed high enough to be a match. And he detected five other emeralds on the island. If he could power up his machines with such an energy... he might be unstoppable. And Sonic would pay.

However, containing such power within his machines proved a bit taxing for Eggman. Just inserting one of them caused the machine to go completely out of control and start destroying everything in sight. It even overrode the emergency shutdown. Eggman would need time to figure out the proper technology and time was not something he had. Sonic was already on South Island and making his way towards Eggman's base. Eggman procured the six emeralds, (he would figure out where the seventh was later on; it wasn't on South Island) inserted them into a machine, and set it loose on South Island. He figured despite the lack of control, the chance that Sonic would get killed was fairly high and South Island would get razed to the ground anyways. He would have his revenge, then detonate the explosives he had placed in the robot and then retrieve the emeralds.

His plan went wrong in one crucial area, though. Sonic won, _and _managed to procure the emeralds. Agitated, Eggman tried to take Sonic on in his base and take the emeralds back. But he didn't count on Sonic somehow managing to harness the power of the emeralds himself. Take the destruction Sonic had wrecked before, multiply it by six, and the battle was over before it had even begun. The only downside was that harnessing so much power with no prior experience caused them to take off and scatter when Sonic powered down. And thus, the race was on yet again.

-

3

-

Sonic destroyed every last piece of machinery and freed all the people who lived on South Island. It was the hero's most grueling battle yet, but the most intense was yet to come. I remember watching the shocking story on the news a week later. Nobody was quite sure exactly what happened on South Island, but the most disturbing part was that Eggman could apparently now use organic life forms inside his machines.

I think this alone made the world a little more scared of Eggman. After all, the Guardian couldn't be everywhere at once. Would Eggman keep kidnapping people to use for his diabolical machines? Would I be next? My friends? To what extent would Eggman's technology increase? Would Sonic be able to save us forever? What if it ever got to be more than he could handle by himself?

I found myself wishing that there was something I could do to help. I wasn't sure if it had to do more with wanting to be like Sonic so I could be near him, or a genuine urge to help people, but I wished I could be a superhero too.

I once thought it would be cool to live in a world populated by superheroes. But it wasn't cool anymore, it was a bit scary. While the world once worried about terrorist cells with bombs strapped to them in public places, airplane hijackings, or the threat that someday the world would go through nuclear war. But these were now the least of our worries. There were much greater threats out there.

I wanted to help.

I didn't want to be helpless.

I didn't want to be alone.

I didn't want to be here anymore.

I wanted to meet Sonic in person just once.

There were so many conflicting emotions going through my head all at once. I thought about running away again. The first time the thought had crossed my mind, it had been terrifying. Now, it seemed less scary, and more of something I needed to do. I was becoming more irrational each day, but the more I thought of it, the more I realized that there _wasn't _anything else I wanted to do in the future with my life. Even the prospect of becoming a writer, something I still loved, had taken a backseat to my emotions and desires. I didn't want to stay here, in this life. I didn't want to go into a normal, stable future. I wanted something more.

I wasn't sure what I wanted to achieve by running away, but I wanted to find out. Deep down, I knew that what I really wanted to do was to follow Sonic, but first I would find a job, make a life for myself in the outside world... and then we would see. I didn't know how I was going to do it, I just felt I had to.

My life was at a crossroads. I could take one door or the other. Pick the first door of which I knew exactly what was behind it, or take the other one and head for an uncertain future. I chose the latter.

Did I regret it? To some extent, no. I don't think I made a wrong choice. I just think I chose it for the wrong reasons. If I had gone truly with the intent of making a better life for myself, I would have been okay. If I had not made the mistake of thinking that there was even the slightest chance that there was any truth to "prophecy" or "destiny", then I wouldn't have gotten hurt.

But I would make that mistake. I would find everything I ever wanted, except for that which I wanted the most. And I would fall.

And that is the greatest tragedy of all.


	5. Runaway

Chapter 5 - Runaway

-

1

-

Over the first half of the next year I tracked Sonic's career like a mad obsession. (Which it was.) I started keeping a scrapbook; I had pictures and news articles of every battle, every news story, every interview I could find.

I started taping the news everynight, just to make absolutely sure I didn't miss anything. SNN was running on my TV nearly nonstop. My few friends at the orphanage didn't have a clue what was up with my newfound obsession with the news, and I never told them.

They wouldn't understand.

The battles against Eggman got scarier and more intense. The world was torn between living in fear and hope.

As I said, Sonic couldn't be everywhere at once, and Eggman sometimes capitalized on this. I felt sorry for Sonic. I wished that he wasn't stuck with protecting the world all by himself.

It must be pretty rough being tasked with the destiny of world defender all by himself. I wondered how he felt all alone? Did he ever get stressed out and wish he could call it quits? Was there anyone there to comfort him when things got rough?

I don't know how I could stand being alone with such a huge task like defending the world.

Deep down though I always felt just as alone.

A new section on Fanfiction dot net sprang up under the catagory Celebrities -------- Sonic the Hedgehog.

I couldn't resist the urge more than half a day. I was one of the first writers to start posting "fanshipping" fics.

I was wary of explicitly inserting myself into my stories, but I ended up making a new superhero using my last name; Rose. Rose was a pretty pink female hedgehog with grace, beauty, and fighting skills that would unrealistically put any average martial artist to shame. One of the last surviving descendants of an ancient and powerful clan of ninjas; she starts out as an enemy who ends up falling in love with Sonic and turning her back against her clan.

I thought it was my best well done fic yet and pretty epic. I got good reviews, and ended up turning it into a series. I went back and read some of these recently, and I still don't think it was half bad. Sonic's personality wasn't terribly accurate though, and some plot points were rather far fetched.

With each interview and news story I read, with each chapter I typed out, the more and more the longing in my heart began to increase. I was in love with Sonic the Hedgehog. And I just couldn't see myself being anywhere else than by his side. I was blinded by own emotions, reality began to fade away in a haze, and each lonely night that I spent by myself brought on more agony and pain than I could bear.

I couldn't stand to be here anymore. I couldn't stand not having what I longed for. I was on the verge of snapping.

I think the last straw was when on a field trip with the other kids at the mall, and we stopped in the food court for lunch. We had Chinese. Topping off the meal, we got a basket of fortune cookies and one was passed out per kid.

Mine said - "This year all your dreams will come true!"

I wasn't sure what to think. But I think that was the last straw that finally caused my mind to snap.

-

2

-

I planned to run away in August. I decided not to run away to Empire City; it would be too obvious for anyone looking for me. (If anyone did.) So I did some research on the internet and decided on a small town several hundred miles away called Oakfield. I began planning how I would make money once I got there and searched the local want ads online. I was looking specifically for jobs that were open to students. Thankfully, it was a little easier in a small town for a girl my age to get a part time job than in the big city.

The hardest part was figuring out where I was going to live. I would need to take several jobs to pay for living expenses. I ended up finding a room and board that had a reasonable rate. I wasn't sure how a kid like me would be able to convince them to let me live there all by myself, but I decided to cross that bridge later. I'd probably have to lie about my age. All this planning gave me an excited feeling inside. I was starting to feel less like a kid and more like an adult. I was a little scared too; but I pushed those feelings out of my mind as best I could. I was _going_ to do this. It was past the decision making part, I had made my choice and there was no backing out of it now.

And on October 12th, I did run.

-

3

-

I spent the 11th discreetly packing for my trip. I had saved my birthday money from a month ago and used it to purchase a train ticket. It would take me to a town not far from Oakfield, and I could make the rest of the journey on foot. I took only what I would need; a backpack stuffed with several days worth of food I stole from the orphanage pantry; and my suitcase stuffed with my few personal possessions; mostly my stories that I had written. Leaving was easy. Again, the orphanage place being in a small country town, security was very lax. It was extremely rare that one of the kids ran away, so it was as simple as opening my first floor window and just leaving.

Before I took the first step of my journey, I stood there and looked back one final time.

_This was it. _

I was leaving everything behind. Jumping out of my comfort zone and into the fire. I didn't know where my life was going or what was going to happen, but as the cool autumn breeze blew across my face, I knew there was no turning back. There was something better waiting for me out there. Everything that I wanted, I knew I could attain if I worked hard enough at it. I was willing to go through thick and thin.

I thought that this must be what it feels like for an aspiring actress or musician when they first set out to lay their claim to fame. There are no rules, no simple pattern to follow. This isn't getting your diploma, then setting out for a long, normal career with a company until you get old and retire. This was truly you against the world. The competition is fierce, and you have to truly work hard to stay ahead. And when the dust settles and there is one last person standing... then there is only victory.

_Or you could just crash and burn. _

Either way, I knew my dream, and I knew that there was nothing else I could do that would possibly give me fulfillment in life. _Or was there?_ And I was going to go forward and not look back.

And someday, Sonic, maybe our paths will cross and we will be...

I wonder what I would have thought then if I had known that only two months later I would be a prisoner of a madman in a world's dark, twisted future and that my very life would be hanging on the line. I wonder what I would have thought if I had known I would be an actual damsel in distress, and my hero...


	6. Settling In

Chapter 5 - Settling In

-

1

-

"Basically, there isn't much to this job except for helping customers find what they are looking for and knowing correct method of stocking things." said Chris as he led Amy over to a rack stuffed with books. He grabbed a book and turned it around to the back and pointed out the scan tag on the bottom left corner.

"Every book has a tag like this. The category and subcategory is right here, and it's all a matter of taking it to the right section. Now this one goes to the Mystery section..." Chris began his brisk walk over to the Mystery section, as I half ran to try to keep up. "Everything is stocked by the first letter in the author's last name." Chris selected the appropriate location and spent a moment squeezing the book in. "Except for when the book is part of a licensed series. For example..." Chris turned around to the shelf opposite mystery. "Stuff in the fantasy section like the Forgotten Realms series or..." Chris pulled out a book titled City of Heroes. "Stuff based off videogames or TV series', all of them are stocked not by author but by the first letter in their name. Got it?" I nodded my head in affirmation.

"Excellent. And that's all there is to it. You will find..." Chris began briskly walking to the end of the aisle as I again tried to keep up to where a computer monitor and a keyboard sat on a table. "...these terminals. Now anytime you absolutely can't find a book the customer is looking for, you can check to see if we actually have it here. You can do a search by title, author, or series. You can find out if we have the book in stock, which other stores have the book in stock, if we carry it in our warehouse, ect. If we don't have it in the store, we can direct them to another store where they have it in stock or the customer can place an order and we'll ship it here or to their home address from our warehouse. If it's out of print, there are several links in our system from which you can check and order from a used books vendor. You won't have to worry about this all now, you'll get trained in this later. They like to break in new employees slowly here."

Chris adjusted his glasses. "Any questions?"

"I'm good." I responded with a nervous smile.

"Excellent. Now I'll give you the grand tour of our store." He once again began a brisk pace as I tried to keep up.

Chris, an 19ish looking employee at the Book World bookstore seemed like a nice enough guy. He also seemed to eternally have a cup of coffee on hand or in the area around him so he was always quite wired and hyperactive. Still, he was very helpful and knowledgeable and an interesting conversationalist when you got to know him. But unless you were talking about a piece of conversation that actually interested him he normally kept quiet and to himself.

Chris led me around the bookstore naming off each section as we went along. "Now in the middle of the store are the general fiction books. Mystery, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Romance, Thriller, Action... ecetera...

"In the back of the store is the kids section." He pointed. "You don't have to worry about that section too much since we always have at least one employee specifically staffed for that section. Still, you should make a point to memorize where everything is. On this back corner over here..."

"...is nonfiction. Stuff like Science, Physics, Cars, Cooking, Sewing, Animals, ect. In the opposite corner is Classic Literature. Everything from Charles Dickens to Mary Shelley. And of course..." He said gesturing. "You've noticed our cafe. Conveniently hidden here on the second floor where we are less likely to make as much of a profit. Just another typical corporate goof up"

Chris started going off on a tangent about how retail corporates were full of imbeciles who only looked at the numbers and were always making dumb changes to the store because they...

"...don't do our jobs and have no idea what it's like at our level. Every now and then some bigwig will come to visit and gripe about what they think is being done wrong and will start telling us to reorganize stuff for no good reason..." Chris went on for a few minutes while I stood there with a plastic smile and nodding.

I wasn't sure I agreed with him. I considered all people to be basically good. And everybody made mistakes. It wasn't always their fault. Everyone was just trying to do their job the best they could and couldn't help messing up every now and then. It was a big company with a lot of people and everyone had different points of view. Actually, I would come to notice over the next few years in retail just how widely different people's personalities were and just how much everyone's points of view frequently clashed. Chris was a bit of a cynic who seemed to think most management and customers were stupid and it tended to reflect a bit in his interactions with them. I didn't really share that viewpoint.

After getting off his speech about the idiocy of corporations, he went back to naming everything again. "Right next to the cafe are all of our maps and atlases. To the right of the maps are the humor section, and on the left is our World Travel and Language sections." He started walking to the front of the second floor to the corner opposite the stairwell leading down.

"Foreign Language books, Architecture, Maps, Graphic Novels..."

"And the aisles in between all that are Audiobooks, Computers, Programming, Manga, Magic, Metaphysical, New Age, and my personal favorite..."

He gestured to a small area towards the bottom of the Metaphysical shelf. "Speculation."

"Speculation?" I asked.

"Yep. Or to be more accurate; "Conspiracy Theories By Morons."

He pulled out a book entitled; 'Are Aliens Brainwashing Our World Governments?'

"I don't think I need to give a better explanation." He proceeded to give one anyways. "UFO plots to take over the world, bizarre alien theories of the origin of the universe, ect. There are even several different books here which predict several different dates that the world is going to end. There are always new books coming out that predict the end of the world is going to end the current year, and when the year passes, those books go out of print and more pop up to take their place. Stupidity or just trying to make money off of gullible people, I'm not sure which is the case. I think both. Check this piece of crap out."

Chris pulled out a book called 'The History of the Xorda: The Origin and Necessary Apocalypse of the Anthro Humans.'

"It was written by a Dr. Jonathan Kintobar. This book has been banned in a lot of places; and you _definately _won't find it anywhere that large populations of anthro humans live. Kintobar was an huge racist who presented the belief that at one point on Earth, humans were the only dominate species until extraterrestials landed on our world. The Xorda were supposedly part of a Galactic Federation that sought out intelligent life on other worlds and gave them a chance to enter the Federation. But when the Xorda landed on Earth, they were horrified at the war and debauchery that took place on our planet and instead decided to destroy Earth. They shot some kind of chemical onto the Earth that was supposed to kill all life, but instead it mixed with the gases on our planet and had a backwards chemical effect. Life began too thrive, maybe a little too much. Some animals on the planet began to evolve and gained intelligence, and that's where anthro humans come from.

Dr. Kintobar was a Human Supremist that believed that half our world was unjustly taken from the humans by the anthro humans and it is a crime that we now have to share it. He considered them outsiders who needed to be removed indefinitely. Otherwise, he stated, humans may someday no more be the 'dominate species'. Kintobar was eventually found by GUN intelligence to be the head of a sect of a particularily violent Human Supremist organization and was linked to several dozen senseless murders of anthro humans. He was tried and sentenced to the electric chair."

I was a little horrified. I had _never_ heard of anything like this. Catching my look, Chris said,

"Apologies. I didn't mean to upset you. There are lots of evil people in this world, worse than Eggman even."

"It's okay. I just never heard of anything like that before."

"When you read a lot, you learn a mix of fascinating and disturbing things about the world. If you really want your pleasant world view shattered, try giving the stuff in True Crime section a shot. You can find a ton more stuff on Human Supremism."

I nodded warily.

Deciding to change the subject, he said

"Now to be fair, not _everything_ in this section is complete and utter crap. There is actually some pretty decent stuff. Take this one for example..." He pulled out a book.

The title was 'The Millennium Planet. How Time Travel Is Not Only Possible, But History As We Know It Is _Not_ Secure.'

I took a moment to try to digest the huge title.

"This was written by a Dr. Julian Korvac. He has a lot of reputable books in the Science section and he's a highly brilliant man. Unfortunately, the theories presented in this particular book tend to be considered rather farfetched and were rejected by every scientific board across the nation."

"But could time travel really exist?" I asked, my curiosity piqued. It was something I only thought existed in science fiction. Of course, I had once thought that superheroes only existed in science fiction as well.

"It not only could but it does." Chris said. "Einstein proved it. He found that the speed of light is constant and outside of everything else. Say you are on a train going 100 miles per hour and you throw a ball at 20 miles an hour. Because your gravity is centered in the train, while you are standing still you are actually moving as fast as the train. So when you throw the ball, the ball is actually traveling at 120 miles per hour. Light is not like that. Light travels at its own constant speed no matter what. So if you turn on a flashlight on a train, the speed of light is not affected by outside variables such as how fast the train is going. So, the theory is, if you travel at the speed of light, you can bypass everything including time. Say you are on a space shuttle orbiting the Earth at the speed of light for four years. Well, when you return to Earth, you would find that not four years had passed, but twenty."

"Wow." I said, fascinated.

"But the thing about time travel is, there is no way to harness and control it. And that's what Dr. Julian has dedicated much of his research trying to find out. Dr. Julian is not only a scientist but an archaelogist in his spare time. He likes to specialize in the ancient tribes and cultures of our nation before it was settled by the first civilized settlers centuries ago. God knows there are still enough ruins and relics still just lying around here in modern day UF. Well, he was studying a tribe called the Abkantis. The Abkantis are one of the hardest tribes to study because they lived in seclusion from the outside world. No one from any other tribe could enter their land without certain death. They were eventually wiped out by the first settlers after huge war.

There are many ancient manuscripts describing this tribe in great detail, but no one has ever seen what this tribe was like on the inside. In fact, any useful information about them is very scarce.

Dr. Julian managed to stumble on some ruins of which he believed was the long lost location to the Abkantis tribe. In fact, its actually not that far from this town. The Abkantis were not only secluded from the outside world, but they had their own language and writing system too. Their language was a strange mix of the common language that the other tribes around them used but mixed with their own words. They also took a lot of common words and gave them entirely different meanings. Even their written language is screwed up..."

He opened the book and flipped several pages.

"Their written language is like no written language you've ever seen. It contradicts itself at every turn. Take an Abkantis paragraph. For no reason right in the middle, the symbols start suddenly taking on the opposite meanings of what they are supposed to stand for. Then, towards the end, the symbols start switching places and you have to start reading each word backwards. Just to add a little more punishment, the symbols frequently change their meanings entirely as you are reading. The language is impossible to crack. It's like the Abkantis were deliberately writing everything in code to make absolutely sure that no outsider could possibly understand it."

The part of my brain that was a writer immediately formed a hypothesis.

"They were protecting something!"

Chris grinned. "Bingo! That was Dr. Julian's thoughts exactly. Now, he hypothesized that a language as messed up as this would obviously have its own 'Rosetta Stone' to avoid confusion by its own people. So Dr. Julian spent two years trying to find it. Eventually, they managed to tunnel into a hidden chamber. It was a large room decked out like some kind of temple, but there was no altar. The walls were covered with giant symbols and pictures. The most interesting picture was of a giant sphere in the center of the back wall. It was surrounded by stars and there was a smaller sphere at the top which looked like it was dispersing drops of something out of it. Dr. Julian hypothesizes that this is a picture of the universe and the giant sphere is Earth. The drops coming out of the smaller sphere are going out into the entire universe. Here's a picture..."

He flipped to the page. "Notice anything?"

"The smaller sphere and the drops are a different color than everything else."

"Yes. And there was a paragraph of writing underneath the picture. Dr. Julian eventually figured out that the Rosetta Stone he was looking for was right in this chamber. The symbols on the left and right walls were the key to cracking the language. It took quite some time, but Dr. Julian was eventually able to start translating the paragraph in the temple and the various manuscripts left around by the Abkantis.

He found that the Abkantis believed in something called the 'Little Star', or 'Little Planet'. The Abkantis believed in the 'Power that sustains time' and they considered themselves the protectors of it. According to myth, every one thousand years, a tiny planet would appear above a lake at the center of the Abkantis tribe. It would disperse what they called 'seeds of time' that supposedly were used to keep the time stream in check.

Dr. Julian considered this to be nothing more than a myth himself except that several months later they tunneled into another chamber where they found a strange stone. When he ran a diagnostic on it, he found it contained a very unusual energy source. When he modified the machine to detect other similar energy sources, he found that there were strange energy particles that showed up not just on our world but in space as well.

Dr. Julian came up with a hypothesis. What if there is a main universe from which everything comes from, and in this place, there is no such thing as time? A place where everything is neverending and eternal? And what if there are multiple dimensions that come from this master universe, and we are simply one of them? Time exists here because time was something created for our universe. The theory behind the legend of the Chaos Emeralds, now only known to be an actual reality thanks to Dr. Eggman, is that they hold the elements of the world in check. To keep our world in balance and _not_ chaos is the very definition of the Chaos Emeralds. So, what if time was capable of being just as unstable and needed a system to help keep it in balance?

If you think about it, the future is really not set. In a planet filled with several billion people all capable of free will, anything can happen. But here's something scary: If the future can be changed, the past could be just as subject to change in ways that would never be known to us because we would just change along with history. And what if time were something like a rope, and every now and then it started getting a little weathered and started unraveling just a tiny bit, little by little?

Dr. Julian proposed thinking of the Little Planet in terms of something like a debugging program for a computer. It's a cosmic traveler that goes from universe to universe checking each time stream for errors and then making corrections. According to the Abkantis manuscripts, the appearance of the little planet occurs every one thousand years on the dot. The whole book goes into a _lot_ more detail on this stuff but that's the basic gist of it."

"That's incredible!" I said. "Do you really think it might be true?"

A glum look crossed his face for a second. "To be honest, I hope not."

"Oh? Why not?"

He reached down and pulled out another book by the same author. It was called. 'The Apocalypse of the Millennium Planet.'

"After publishing his first book on the subject, there where still some questions that nagged at Dr. Julian constantly. If the Little Planet only appears every one thousand years and only stays for a few minutes, then why protect it? The Abkantis didn't utilize a calender for when the planet would appear. The date would always remain a mystery, even to them. Dr. Julian translated a parchment that appeared to be part of the law that governed the tribe that stated: 'Speak not of the planets appearance the day after, do not even speak of it at all.' Dr. Julian found it worrisome that the tribe would even go as far as keeping the date a secret from themselves so that even long after their demise, the existence and appearance of the planet would remain a mystery. Dr. Julian thought that maybe they were worried that someday people might gain the technology to travel to the planet..."

"...and then be able to control time!" I added. "Yep." He said. "And in such a scenario, who do you think in our present time _might_ be the most logical scenario?"

I thought of Eggman. The thought of Eggman controlling time chilled me right to the bone.

Chris saw by my look that we were on the same wavelength.

"Now, I don't want to seem alarming. It's a very unlikely scenario. There is no actual proof that this planet exists. It's all theory. But, not long after publishing his previous book, Dr. Julian found something that scared him to death. He was preparing a lecture for a university on the history and prophecies of Nostradamus. He was thumbing through some of the Century X prophecies when his eyes landed on something that he had never paid attention to before.

It was a quatrain that stated;

'Then the Little Planet shall appear and exude a great light; Before the Man of Darkness comes to extinguish the light, And He attempts to crush the will of all humanity'."

A tinge of fear began to rise up in my stomach, and I tried hard to suppress it.

"Dr. Julian was so freaked out that he begin researching ancient prophecies for anything else that might relate to the Little Planet."

"Did he find anything?"

"A LOT. Prophecies that were often ignored or misinterpreted because scholars often assumed 'Little Planet' was a metaphor for a certain kingdom, nation, or continent. But take this one for example; it was a prophecy penned by an ancient seer who is credited with predicting the fate of Atlantis:

'And the Small Planet on the Dawn of the New Millennium shall be ravaged in its Past, and so shall its Future be forever Doomed, and it shall spread out into the entire breadth of the Heavens.'

Or yet another one:

'And the corruption of the Little Planet shall sow seeds of Evil throughout the Universe.'

Dr. Julian believed that the ancestors of the Abkantis forsaw this event and migrated to this land to protect it."

I had a question. "But, if it's prophecy, doesn't that mean it has to come true?"

"Not necessarily. Scholars have long questioned the existence of apocalyptic prophecy. I mean, think about it. If the world is going to end anyways, why tell us? Why not just let us go about our normal daily lives without a worry in the world right up until the end? Why be cursed with it for generations to come? The general theory of apocalyptic prophecy is that its not entirely canon but a warning. It fortells of horrible events that humanity will have an opportunity to overcome and survive. But it's not going to come easy. There will be battles, and things will probably get their darkest before the dawn."

"If Eggman tries to conquer time, Sonic will save us." I said with certainty.

"I wish that could be the case." Chris said. "But I'm not as optimistic. Sonic is one superhero against a madman with an entire army at his disposal. As we've already seen in recent news, he can't be everywhere at once. What happens if another terrorist like Eggman pops up? And another one?

What would happen if Eggman were to take over the Little Planet simply because Sonic was too busy elsewhere?

Until Sonic isn't fighting with the weight of literally the entire world on his shoulders, I'm going to continue being concerned."

"But in typical superhero lore, when one superhero appears, another always appears!" I argued back.

"But this _isn't_ science fiction. This is real life. Sonic is a one in a several billion mutation of nature. I really hope more heroes do appear. I really do. But at the moment, nothing is certain."

He glanced at his watch.

"And... I've spent a little too much time shooting the breeze." He returned the book to its shelf. I need to finish giving you the rest of the tour, then we'll get you started on stocking some books."

"Alright." I said, wanting to debate just a little more.

I had faith in Sonic. I didn't feel like Eggman and Sonic appearing around the same time was coincidence. And if Sonic really did need help, Fate would send him some. Right?

I felt kind of worried about the things Chris had told me. But that stuff was only speculation, right? Just because it was in a book didn't mean it was canon. It was only a theory. Besides, even if it did happen, it might not even be till the distant future.

Yes, there was nothing to worry about.

Chris said those ruins were not far from town. Maybe I should go there on a day off and check it out. Just a look. There would be nothing there and I would feel better.

-

2

-

Shortly after arriving in Oakfield, I had immediately gotten a place to stay at the room and board and then gone and applied at Book World and interviewed for the job. I was posing as a student and got by telling everyone that my parents were archaeologists who were globe trotting while I stayed here and got an education. It wasn't a _total_ lie. I would stick here for a while, keep writing, and keep monitoring Sonic's activities. I kept hoping that Sonic would settle down somewhere, then I might just move to that place and make a life there and cross my fingers that someday we cross paths.

I felt very proud of myself for what I had accomplished already and was beginning to gain more confidence that I could do anything I wanted. I started seriously thinking about what I might do as a career someday. As much as I would have liked to become a superhero myself, I knew the odds of that would be incredibly unlikely, and if I were to be Sonic's housewife someday _*giggle*_ I would want to show how responsible I could be and get a decent career.

But sometimes at night I would feel different. As I would lie awake at night I would begin to feel scared. I would suddenly ask myself what the heck I was doing and what was I trying to accomplish. I felt kinda scared of the secure life I had left behind.

_Screw it, no one ever wanted to adopt me anyways. Why should I care?_

I felt scared of the future.

_Just what do I think I'm trying to pull off? I don't have a shot..._

I even felt scared for Sonic's safety. And mine.

_What if he were to die one day? What if the city I'm in gets attacked and blown up or what if the world suddenly ends tomorrow?_

I thought about what Chris said. I thought about what I believed in. I thought about what I _wanted _to believe in.

And in the end I would do my best to push the voices out of my head and replace them with a much more comforting one:

_Look at how far I've come. I'm going forward and nothing can stop me..._


	7. New Life

Chapter 6 - New Life

_Author's Note - Some Sonic fans may notice I've excluded writing about Amy's proficiency and use of Tarot that her official origin in the games describes. In case you are wondering, I left this out simply because I lack knowledge of how Tarot actually works. So, consider this a semi-alternate universe I guess._

"LEE, FOR GOSH SAKES HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU TO FIX THE DARN AIR CONDITIONER?"

Lee came plodding out of the kitchen scarfing down a bagel.

"Good Lord, woman. I told you last night I would get it this morning."

"You've been saying that since last week! I will NOT have our guests burning up in the middle of July just because of your laziness."

"Hey." Lee half shouted. Roy came out of the kitchen with his perpetual cup of coffee. "I've been busting my butt around here nonstop with the list of stuff you keep giving me that's growing bigger and bigger and _maybe_ if you would stop griping about how urgent _this_ is and how urgent _that_ is MAYBE I would actually be able to FINISH something!"

"Well excuse me for trying to keep an orderly place around here! And you have NOT been busting your butt! How many times do I catch you laying around watching sports all day?"

"A man has got to have SOME kind of freaking past time with the kind of work YOU load me down with."

They argued like this every morning. Lee and Valerie were the owners of the room and board I was living at. They were both really nice people but they were always arguing with each other. Roy had said that they really loved each other and the yelling didn't mean a whole lot. It was just something they did. I couldn't imagine having a relationship with someone where all we did was yell. But to each his own, I guess.

Eventually, Lee sulked off to look at the air conditioning unit, and Roy following behind him like an obedient lap dog chit-chatting the whole way. Roy worked downtown at the local glass mill. When he was off duty, he pretty much spent his whole time here tailing someone (usually Lee) with a cup of coffee in hand talking their ear off. I think Lee kinda got annoyed at Roy following him everywhere sometimes, but if he did, he never said anything.

Every morning Valerie would make the entire breakfast for the guests herself. Lunch and dinner you were on your own. I was sitting at the table contently munching down some eggs and bacon. I was currently the only one at the table. Some of the others had already left for work and others were sleeping in. Some, like Wayne, had already rushed out the door and took some to go, scarfing down as they went, much to Valerie's dismay.

"What good is a decent meal if you don't take time to sit down and enjoy it?" She would always say.

John walked into the room and took a seat. "Mornin' Valerie." He said with a smile. Her mood brightened up a bit when she saw him. "And how are you doing this morning, John?"

"Oh, I can't complain." He said. "How are you this morning, Amy?"

"I'm just fine." I said with a smile.

John was a very pleasant person. He was always in a bright mood and treated every one he met like they were the center of the universe. He would always ask me how my job or studies were going or how my parents were doing oversees. I always felt really bad about lying to him. I think he may have kinda picked up on the fact that I was lying about certain things and he had stopped pressing further. He was a really nice guy like that.

Valerie brought him some breakfast and we chatted casually for a bit. I always felt good about myself talking to him. He was on staff at the local church and worked full time on the grounds doing whatever needed to be done. A bit of a Jack of all trades.

Adam entered the room. Adam was the complete opposite of John. He was always finding faults in everything and everyone. Every now and then he would get off on a tangent of whoever had currently pissed him off and would spend weeks ranting about all that person's shortcomings from the day they were born until someone else pissed him off and they became his new target.

"And how are you doing this fine morning?" John asked with a friendly smile as Adam took a seat. Adam grunted in response.

"Trevor screwed up again at work last night. I had to take all the heat for it. It seems that guy is ALWAYS screwing something up or another."

"I'm sorry to hear that." John said. Adam continued ranting.

"Just last week we were headed to Station Square to work on a job and before we left I told him; 'Now you make sure that ladder is on the truck securely and all the straps are fastened tight!' He insisted everything was fine; that's how he always is. Always sure of himself and doesn't need anyone assisting him. God wonders how a person like that even SURVIVES from day to day. Anyways, we are going down the freeway, right? And I just happen to take a glance in the rear view mirror, and you know what I see? Take a guess."

Not even allowing time for a response, he continued.

"The ladder is off the truck rolling down the freeway and traffic is piling up for miles down. He starts to pull over like an idiot and I tell him to floor it before someone sees it was us and the company takes the blame for it. Can you believe that he didn't even get fired for it? Boss said we were 'too short on help' and that Trevor was sincerely sorry and that it 'would never happen again'.

Sorry my butt. He's ALWAYS doing stuff like this. Just last week he wrote a check for his friend and forgot to put his SIGNATURE on it. How stupid do you have to be?"

Adam went on for awhile about Trevor this and Trevor that. John just smiled and nodded his head. Poor guy.

"...so last night he was put in charge of organizing the warehouse... HIM... can ya believe... and he..."

"...sometimes just up and leaves the job site when the boss is out of town and goes to the beach! And here I am busting my butt being the good worker that I am, and you know what I found out? He makes a few cents MORE than me. What the heck? He..."

And on and on and on. This is how my mornings typically started out. Sitting here having breakfast chatting with and watching the interactions of the other tenants.

Adam's hatred for most of humanity aside, I liked it here. I was starting to feel comfortable with my new life. I sorta began to feel like everyone I had come to know was like a family I never had. I was a little socially awkward because I wasn't used to being around adults who treated me like an equal. It made me feel more grown up and I really liked that feeling.

-

2

-

"Excuse me sir..." An overweight middle aged woman walked up to the register. "Do you have ANY more books here or is this all you've got?" She gestured around towards the first floor. Chris looked at her incredulously but not surprised and said with a hint of wanting to say something a little meaner but holding back: "The first floor is mostly cards, magazines, bargain books, and media only. The majority of our books are on the second floor." The woman whipped around surprised. "There's a second floor?" "That would be what the giant staircase by the front door is for." The woman spotted it and began waddling towards it without another word.

"Good Lord, are these people stupid." Chris groaned. "One time I had a lady come up to the reference desk and ask me where the reference desk was."

I laughed. "I had someone yesterday as me where the maps were. I pointed out the Atlases and he got mad and said he wasn't looking for an atlas, he was looking for a book of maps!" I said.

"Yeah, I get one of those every other month." Chris said.

David, our store manager walked by. "Chris, since you aren't busy right now, show Amy how to do holds." Chris gritted his teeth. "I don't ever see you doing much when you're here, fatso." He muttered under his breath. Chris had a tendency to take things just a little too personally. He also didn't like David much. David was kind of a walking rulebook and was rude sometimes with other employees, even in front of other customers. He was usually nice to me though, if a little cold sometimes.

"Alright... everything on these shelves behind the registers... whenever a customer requests you hold a book or we get a special delivery from the warehouse..."

This was what I did during the day. My shift usually ran from 8 to 4 with the occasional night shift. I convinced them as a student that most of what I did was online self study and I planned my classes around work, so I was able to get more hours in better times of the day. Once again, it wasn't a total lie. Working at the bookstore was better than school for me. Everything I needed to educate myself was right at my fingertips. We had a system where employees could check out books from the store for free and return them as long as there was no noticeable wear or the spine wasn't visibly broken. So I checked out as many as I could and read nonstop on my breaks or in my off time. I made a point to read from each section of the store, so I would check out a few books from one section, then I would go on to another. Chris had gotten me interested in the speculation section so I began reading books from that section, starting with the 'Millennium Planet' books. I then went on to books on improving writing technique, psychology, world culture, and science. I also threw some fiction in there. I found I loved romance, fantasy, and suspense. I was a fast reader so I probably read through a minimum of one or two books a day, many more on my days off. As for what I did on my days off...

-

3

-

It was my off day and I had selected several books to take with me for the trip ahead. Chris was ringing up a lady in front of me. He was typing something on the computer terminal next to the register when David walked by. Chris whipped his head up. "Hey, David. What's the date the new J.L. Stein book comes out?"

"Use the terminal." David said.

"I KNOW you know it off the top of your head. It would be easier to ask you." Chris shot back.

David gave him a look that said, 'You better not question me one more time.'

"USE the terminal."

"So you want to make this lady here wait why I try to punch something up on a computer that you could've easily just told me yourself."

David looked angry. "September 17th. Come see me in my office when you are done." He walked away.

Chris turned his attention towards the customer with a plastic smile. "September 17th, ma'am. Would you like to place a pre-order?" He looked frustrated.

The customer was pleasant about it, but had a look on her face. Chris noticed and as he was finishing her transaction took the receipt and circled a number on it.

"This here, ma'am, is our customer service hotline. If you call you get entered into a monthly drawing to win a $100 bookstore shopping spree. Our store strives for five stars but please feel free to give it what you felt it was _worth_. And if your shopping experience was anything but _pleasant_ today please for the love of _God_ describe it in immense detail to the customer service representative."

The lady laughed and thanked Chris for all the trouble and left.

I came up and put my stuff on the counter.

"That _ASS!_" he exclaimed. "Good God I hope he gets chewed out good by somebody higher up for that."

"I didn't know we had a customer service hotline." I said.

"Oh, yeah." Chris said. "Comes in _very_ handy. Funny story. One time we had this lady who worked in the cafe upstairs. A real troublemaker. Slacked off on her job and picked fights with employees _and_ customers. Well, she got warned that she was on her last strike and if she didn't show some phenomenal improvement that she was going to get canned. So she gets the customer service hotline off a customer's receipt and calls them to let them know about _an absolutely wonderful woman_ who had provided _groundbreaking_ customer service on her visit to our store.

Now, this woman had this particular nasally way of talking so that you could very easily pick her voice out of a crowd of people. And what she didn't know was that each call about our store gets shot back to the store manager himself to listen to the feedback. So David calls her into the office one day, plays the conversation she had had on the hotline, and proceeds to chew her the hell out. Needless to say she was fired on the spot."

"Haha, wow. I wouldn't have wanted to be her!"

"No joke."

He takes my books and starts ringing them out. "THIS is an amazing book." He said, referring too 'Ancient Prophecies Demystified'.

"I've really been getting into some of the stuff that you were showing me on my first day."

"Cool. Tomorrow I'll give you a list of stuff I think you will really enjoy." Chris said as he finished up my transaction. I thanked him and left.

-

4

-

Several weeks after I started working at the bookstore I decided to take a train out to where the old Abkantis ruins were to see them for myself. I had visited similar ruins back when I was at the orphanage on a few field trips, so there was nothing terribly surprising. I was too scared to go into the ruins themselves for fear of getting lost or falling somewhere and not being able to get out. But I poked around the area for a while. I could see why my parents had become explorers. The sense of adventure and mystery, wandering through ancient ruins uncertain of what you would find, trying to unlock the secrets of an ancient civilization and what our world was like thousands of years ago. Being here, I kinda felt closer to my parents in a way.

I had a copy of 'The Millennium Planet' with me and was using it to help me navigate around the ruins. I was looking for one area in specific:

Never Lake.

The place where it was said that every one thousand years to the second the Little Planet would appear and sow its seeds of time. And find it I did. It was the most breathtaking place I had ever seen in my life. The trees, the flowers, everything was in full bloom and so colorful. I would swear everything had more color to it than anything else in the rest of the world! Everything seemed to be so vibrant and full of life! The water was a crystal clear blue that I had never seen in any kind of lake or ocean before. Contrasted to the world around it, this place seemed to be completely out of place on our planet, totally separated from everything else.

I just couldn't get over how serene and peaceful it was! I began to wonder if perhaps this was a place truly untouched by time. Maybe this place really was magic and sustained by a different energy than the rest of the world. A modern day Garden of Eden, if you will.

It was here that I started coming on all my days off. It was the highlight of my week. I would come here with a stack of books and spend the day lazily reading. I even started to get a nice tan. I thought about what it would be like to come here with a boyfriend. I began to entertain fantasies of bringing Sonic to a place like this and how awestruck he would be. We would just lay there, cuddling for the entire day. It would no longer be only my secret place but his and mine together.

-

5

-

This pattern of my life continued nonstop for several months. I would work, study, spend my days off at Never Lake, and the rest of the time, I would continue tracking Sonic's activities. I felt like my life right now was almost perfect. I had everything I could ever want. Except, of course, for that special someone to share my life with.

Eggman kept sending wave after wave of robots and Sonic kept fighting to the best of his ability. Security had tightened heavily across the nation, we were now perpetually in Red Alert status. GUN gave Sonic their full support to the best of their ability but I still felt sorry for all the work Sonic had to do. I wonder if he ever had time just to sit back and enjoy life like I enjoyed mine?

They announced on TV one day that Sonic was going to be interviewing at a TV station in a big city not far from here. I thought about going and hanging around the city all day, just in the slightest hope that I would meet him. But I knew that was near impossible. GUN had the place blockaded almost as much as if the President were visiting. I knew I would never get in. And Sonic didn't really seem to be much of a meet and greet the fans type person. He'd probably slip out of town by the time it was all over.

Instead, I entertained fantasies of him maybe stopping by in Oakfield for a refresher before he went off on another adventure and maybe...

-

6

-

The day of the interview was one of my days off, and I decided to spend it at the lake. They would show the interview later in the evening and I would tape it as always and add it to my collection.

I was kind of downcast and feeling lonely today. Sonic was so near and yet so far away. I knew the odds of him stopping by here were extremely unlikely, and even if he did, I'd probably just miss him anyways. I thought about returning to town in the evening and everyone raving about how I just missed out... I thought I might go insane if that happens.

I just wish I could get one shot...

It was a bit after noon and I was sitting at the lake as usual reading my book on ancient prophecy that I had checked out from Chris a few hours ago when suddenly my ears began to ring. I looked up to notice that a very heavy breeze had picked up. The trees all began to wildly sway back and forth and the water in the lake began to violently ripple. What was going on? There was no forcast for a storm today, and the sky was completely clear. There wasn't a cloud to be found.

I saw sky began to start getting brighter and brighter.

_It couldn't be._ I thought to myself.

_What would be the odds that I could possibly..._

A light flashed over Never Lake. It was so bright that I had to shield my eyes. When the light subsided, I looked up in awe.

Floating exactly over the center of the lake was a tiny planet.

I quickly reached over into my handbag for carrying books and whipped out a small camera. I began furiously taking pictures; Chris was not going to believe this.

There was kind of a humming sound coming from the planet that I could not only hear but _feel._

A blue energy field began materializing around the planet, getting stronger and stronger...

_This was it. I was actually going to see it sow the seeds of time!_

Sonic and everything else that was going on in my life was long forgotten.

I wouldn't have given anything to miss this once in a lifetime opportunity. To think, I was the only person in one thousand years who would actually get to see something like this!

I thought about the prophecies. I decided that I had been foolish for think something could have gone wrong. I mean, in less than a few minutes, it would all be over. And there was no one else for miles around...

A deafening crash came several yards to the right. Startled, I turned to the right and almost dropped my camera. A strange machine had popped out of the ground. On the end of it was what looked like a giant disk with spokes all over it. It came to life as energy crackled out of it and it began to spin.

The faster it started to spin, the more electricity it began to give off. Soon, it began to hum in a similar manner as the energy field above and started to give off a similar blue glow. It seemed like it was trying to synchronize itself with the glow around the Little Planet. A massive electrical wave shot out of the machine and struck the energy field around the planet. The blue energy from the machine mixed with the blue energy around the planet, and in the midst of the electrical current, the blue energy started materializing into a solid object. I gasped when I made out that it was forming a gigantic chain.

The blue field around the planet started weakening. After about ten seconds it sputtered and died. The machine stopped shooting out the current, and a barrier materialized around the machine. The chain was locked into machine and went straight up to the Little Planet.

_No, no..._

The planet was rooted to our world. Held prisoner. Its ancient ritual disrupted. And it didn't take two guesses to whom the machine could possibly belong too. _But how did he know???_

I ran and hid in the covering of the trees surrounding the lake. After a minute, I could hear the steady hum of a machine flying overhead. And I saw the very thing I was dreading.

Eggman, the terrorist who had nearly conquered our world, the most dangerous foe our world had ever seen, was flying in a small craft overhead.

He was heading straight for the Little Planet.


	8. Meeting

Chapter 7

-

1

-

I ran as fast as I could to the train station. I had to try to get Sonic's help. My mind was a blur as the train sped not quite fast enough for me to its destination. I wondered... what if I had to work today and not been at the lake... would anyone ever know? Would Eggman go silently about his plans until we all wake up tomorrow and we're all his slaves?

What if it was already too late?

Dear God, I didn't want to think about that. Arriving in the city, I hopped on a bus and took it to the TV station. Sonic should be conducting his interview right now. There was a throng outside the station. There were fans young and old trying to get their way into the station and GUN seemed to have their hands pretty full.

I ran up to the nearest soldier I saw. He must have misunderstood me because he immediately grabbed me and began forcefully pulling me away from the premises.

"Hey... wait...!"

"How clear do we have to make it that you civilians aren't allowed near the station?!!" He yelled as he half threw me to the ground.

I winced in pain as I tried to explain.

"You don't understand! Eggman's attacking again! We're all in danger! I need to get Sonic's help!"

"Uh huh." He acted disinterested. "You and about several hundred of his other biggest fans. Do NOT come near here again. This is your ONLY warning."

"BUT I'M TELLING THE TRUTH!" I screamed. I got a few glances but overall nobody paid any attention to me.

Everyone thought I was just another lunatic fan. I glanced around and saw the GUN Commander. A big, imposing man with gray hair, with a scowl to marking his disposition. I recognized him because I had seen him on TV before. He was talking to some other GUN soldiers, giving orders.

I ran up to him. "Sir... SIR!" I called. He looked over in my direction unimpressed.

"Please..." I said panting. "You have to warn Sonic! Eggman's attacking again!"

"And how long ago was this?" He asked.

"About three... he..."

"There is no way Eggman could be attacking anywhere that we wouldn't know about already. we're on the highest alert status."

"But you don't UNDERSTAND!" I was getting very frustrated. "He isn't attacking a TOWN. He's trying to take over TIME."

"Along with the usual aliens, vampires and whatever other crazy things you fans come up with?"

"I'm not making this up!"

"I'm busy. Go back and join the other fans before I have you escorted."

In frustration, I walked away.

I couldn't believe this! Nobody would even give me half a second! They all thought I was just another crazy fangirl. But the world really was in danger! And GUN wouldn't help me, and there was no way to reach Sonic...

No... no. I had to reach him. Somehow.

And in that moment, I suddenly had an idea. A brave, stupid, moronic, crazy idea. But there was no other way. I took a look around at the buildings next to the TV station. The one right next to it should be perfect. It was the same height and I was sure to get attention...

-

2

-

"That girl is going to jump!" Someone screamed in horror from below. Everybody from the crowd to the soldiers stopped anything they were doing and looked up. Indeed, there was a young, pink hedgehog girl standing right on the edge of the top of the tall building next to the station.

"Sonofa..." The GUN Commander began cursing.

"I JUST CAN'T DO IT ANYMORE!" I screamed, hoping my lousy act would be just enough for everyone to buy it.

"NOBODY LOVES ME! I'M ALL ALONE IN THIS DARK, CRUEL WORLD! ALL I EVER WANTED WAS TO MEET MY BIGGEST HERO JUST ONCE! IT WOULD BE ENOUGH TO GIVE ME REASON TO LIVE JUST A LITTLE LONGER! I'M JUST GOING TO END MY LIFE RIGHT NOW!"

"GET HER OFF THAT BUILDING RIGHT NOW!" The GUN Commander started screaming as soldiers began dashing into the building to come get me.

"I WON'T LET YOU TAKE ME!" I screamed. "I'M GONNA JUMP!"

_I really hope I get their attention before..._

The door on the TV station's roof opened up and people began pouring out with cameras. It looked like my plan was working.

"I WANT TO SEE SONIC NOW OR I'M GONNA JUMP!"

A very perplexed looking blue hedgehog wandered out with the news crew.

It was then that our eyes met for the first time.

I had often fantasized about this day. I had at least a hundred different scenarios for how it would all play out.

We would walk past each other one day and it would be love at first sight. I would kinda pretend not to be looking so hard, but he would walk up, mesmerized by my beauty, and ask me out on a date.

Or maybe I would be taking a walk on the beach and see him sitting off by himself and would go join him. He would start talking about his epic battles, his worries, his fears... I would sit there being the perfect listener; someone he could confide in, and he would no longer be lonely.

Maybe I would be at my perfect spot at Never Lake and he would just show up by coincidence. He would be as taken with it as I was and then he would spot me. Again, as our eyes met, it would be love at first sight and from then on we would spend much time together at our spot.

I certainly hadn't ever imagined that the first time we met it would be under these circumstances.

A crazy girl on the roof of a tall building with the military on her tail getting ready to jump.

Meeting his eyes for the first time in real life was the strangest feeling. I had followed his exploits ever since he first appeared on the news. He had been my hero, my fantasy. My brain just couldn't register that he was actually only several yards away from me. That the actual, real flesh and blood Sonic the Hedgehog was standing right there looking at me.

The door to the roof opened and the GUN soldiers came through heading my direction. The leader shouted something but I didn't hear it. I shut off my brain and jumped.

-

3

-

The air whipped through my quills as I hurtled downwards. I no longer had any control over my body but was at the mercy of gravity as I tumbled towards the pavement like a rag doll. I thought briefly again what a stupid thing I was doing. But I wasn't scared. I had faith in Sonic. He would save me.

I was almost at the pavement when it disappeared out from under me and suddenly the whole world around me became one constant blur. I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride except this was much faster and more fluid. I took a look at everything around me mesmerized. _So this is what it looks like when he runs._

And as soon as it started, it all went away. It took a few seconds to realize that we were stopped and I was now sitting on the ground still feeling the effects of the adrenaline.

I looked up and he was standing over looking like he was not quite sure what to say.

"Uh... you okay?"

I couldn't find my voice at first. Here I was, with my hero, and I couldn't dare open my mouth for fear I might say something wrong and make a fool out of myself.

_Waitaminute, I just did that already._

Without thinking

_Do I ever?_

I jumped up and grabbed his arm, causing him to flinch and sorta back away.

"It's Eggman! He's at a place called Never Lake near my town! I tried to get GUN to help but they just ignored me! I'm so sorry, but I had to take drastic measures to get your attention!"

_So much for giving a smooth and sophisticated first impression._

"Oh." He said. He started looking a little relieved, I guess because I wasn't just some random psychopath after all. Maybe he would even be impressed with how innovative I can be in a crisis!

"Well, I guess you did what you had to. What's going on?"

I stood there as I explained to him about the legend of the Little Planet, the Abkantis, and what I had seen.

_I'm also showing him how knowledgeable I am. Maybe he will be impressed by that!_

I was dead nervous the entire time, standing there, talking to my hero, his eyes never leaving me the entire time.

The way he looked at me with those emerald green eyes...

It was something that you learn from the beginning when you start hanging around Sonic. He may be fast and impatient for the most part, when you talk to him, he makes eye contact with you and waits patiently for you to talk. He genuinely pays attention to you and you truly feel like you are the center of his world.

"And it's about thirty miles from your town?"

"Yes. East." I said.

"Alright. I'll look into it! Uh..."

He looked towards where my hand was still grabbing his arm.

"OH! Sorry!"

"Don't worry about it."

And with that, he sped off.

I stood there swooning for the longest time. I had just talked face to face with my hero for the very first time!

It took me a minute before I realized that he hadn't gotten my name.

_Crap!_

And what if he wanted to take me out on a date after he finished saving the world? Would he know where to find me?

_Or would he completely forget me and not look for me at all?_

Maybe, I had a shot. For the first time in my life, I had the chance to make my dream come true. I wasn't sure how I was going to do it, but I had to find a way.

_What if I went to Little Planet?_

What if? It would be a great chance to show him he's not alone and has someone there to support him. Maybe I could even find a way to help!

Excited, and stupid, I ran off to catch a train to the Abkantis ruins.

-

4

-

The TV station was in total chaos. I counted six ambulances, three fire trucks, and nearly a dozen police cars. Blockades were being set up everywhere, and the GUN soldiers were running around franticly. The Commander was pissed to high hell and screaming at everybody. As it turns out, while I was talking to Sonic several other fans had decided to try the same tactic. The downside was that Sonic was no longer in the area to save them, so it didn't end rather well.

I don't think anyone died, but there were a lot of serious injuries and broken bones. GUN had started taking to tasering any civilian who even got near one of the other buildings.

They would forever more have to now blockade the entire section of town whenever Sonic did another interview.

The Commander briefly laid eyes on me, but that was long enough.

"HEY! YOU! GET HER!"

_Uh-oh._

The Commander quickly started ordering soldiers on my tail and I had to make a run for it.

It took me a few minutes, I managed to shake them.

I had to make it to the train before the soldiers got wise and started putting out a full search.

-

5

-

The Little Planet was in the same state I had left it. But the surrounding environment wasn't. While everything had been once beautiful, bright and vivid, everything now looked dull and pale. It was as if all the color was going out of the place. There was no breeze and the air was getting cold and stale.

I went over to the giant chain and climbed on top. It was just big enough that I could maneuver on top and not fall off if I was careful. I looked up at the Little Planet and saw that it went a fairly long way. I hoped I could make it all the way up without getting tired. This would have been a breeze for Sonic.

He was probably far ahead of me by now. Maybe he had already saved the world.

But given the present feel of the area and the fact the chain was still present, I knew that wasn't the case. I was a little terrified, but hey. I had already did one very scary thing today.

And just maybe this was destiny.

Not thinking about what would happen if Sonic were to win in this very instant and the chain were to snap while I was on it, not thinking I could be stuck on the Little Planet if Sonic won and left not knowing I was there and I was forever trapped going from universe to universe and not arriving back on our world for 1000 years, not thinking about what kind of serious danger I was putting myself in or even the possibility I could really die, not thinking about how I would be getting in Sonic's way and making things far more complicated for him than they could have been, not allowing myself an ounce of fear to creep into my mind...

Thinking none of these things, I began to climb.


End file.
